FCRA bribery case: Delhi court grants bail to former MHA official

 A Delhi court has granted bail to a former official of the Union Home Ministry's Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) division, who was arrested for allegedly facilitating illegal clearances to NGOs, in lieu of bribes.

During the course of the hearing, counsel for accused Alok Ranjan argued that three other accused public servants -- Tushar Kanti Roy, Mohd Saheed Khan, and Raj Kumar have already been granted regular bail in connection with the corruption case.

Special CBI judge Ajay Gulati, in the order, noted that though in the FIR, the accused is alleged to have sought bribes from a number of organisations, the investigation,as detailed in the charge sheet, has only highlighted his role in relation to one particular NGO which is 'Harvest India' from whom he had sought a bribe for processing its pending file in the FCRA Division.

The court also pointed out the investigating officer's submission that the relevant files concerning NGO Harvest India have already been seized. Further, it was observed that the evidence of recorded conversations is in the possession of the investigating officer. "The IO has also informed that there is no difficulty in seizing the files of other organisations/NGOs as the same are available on the on-line platform of the FCRA Division. Also, voice sample of the applicant has already been taken by the IO," read the order dated July 21.

Further, noting that the accused is in custody for over two months now and the conclusion of the investigation is not likely to happen in the near future, the present application deserves to be allowed, the court said while granting bail on a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh.

The court also directed that the accused shall not enter FCRA Division Office without written permission of an Officer not below the rank of Joint Secretary in the FCRA Division and shall not be in touch with any of the officials presently posted in FCRA Division and shall not leave Delhi without prior permission.

In May, the CBI raided 40 locations across the country in the alleged corruption in the MHA which led to the recovery of Rs 3.21 crore in cash. After conducting the searches, the CBI lodged a case against 36 accused, including seven officials of the FCRA Division of the MHA and NIC, on the allegation that some officials of the FCRA Division in conspiracy with promoters, representatives of different NGOs and middlemen were indulging in corrupt activities for getting backdoor FCRA registration and renewal for NGOs.